SP's alliance with smaller outfits to spell doom for BJP in Uttar Pradesh: Akhilesh Yadav

SBSP president Om Prakash Rajbhar and expelled BSP leader Ram Achal Rajbhar were also with the SP chief during the meeting

Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Akhilesh Yadav expressed confidence that his alliance with smaller outfits in the forthcoming assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh would spell doom for the BJP in the state even as his remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Varanasi visit and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath drew sharp reactions from the BJP here.

Addressing public meetings at Jaunpur on Tuesday, Akhilesh said that the wind was blowing against the BJP and the latter was staring at defeat in the next assembly elections. "Prices of essential commodities have skyrocketed....farmers are facing shortage of fertilisers," he said.

"BJP leaders, including MPs and MLAs, are finding it difficult to enter the villages....the people are very angry with the BJP as it has not fulfilled any of its promises it had made to them in the previous polls," the SP president said. "The smaller outfits have also shunned the BJP," he added.

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Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) president Om Prakash Rajbhar and expelled BSP leader Ram Achal Rajbhar were also with the SP chief during his visit to the district. They also attacked the BJP for doing precious little for the backward communities during its tenure and said that the people had already made up their minds to throw the saffron party out of power.

He also took potshots at UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath while speaking to reporters later. "The chief minister did not take a dip in the Ganga in Varanasi as he knew that the river was very polluted....despite spending huge amounts of money none of the rivers could be made cleaner," he added.

Akhilesh's barb against Prime Minister Narendra Modi that people visited Kashi (the old name of Varanasi) in their last days evoked sharp response from the BJP leaders here with many of them likening him to the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb. "Akhilesh has no respect for the Hindu culture...there is no difference between him and Aurangzeb," said a senior BJP leader here while speaking to DH.

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